Villatobas debuts general ordinance on grants with competitive bidding

The Villatobas City Council has made final the General Ordinance regulating the granting of subsidies, the full text of which is published in the Official Gazette of the province of Toledo number 187, dated September 30, 2026, pages 77 to 80 (announcement I.-4449, verification code 2026.00004449). The regulation will enter into force once its publication is completed and the period of fifteen business days provided for in article 65.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, has elapsed. This agreement concludes the administrative route, and only a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against it.

The text is the culmination of a procedure initiated by the Plenary of the Villatobas City Council in an ordinary session on April 29, 2026, when it initially approved the ordinance. The announcement of public exhibition was published in the Official Gazette of the province of Toledo number 83, dated May 6, 2026 (announcement I.-1996). Since no claims or suggestions were submitted during the period of public information and hearing for interested parties, the agreement was automatically made final in accordance with article 49, last paragraph, of Law 7/1985. The ordinance was signed in Villatobas on September 25, 2026, by the Mayor, María Gema Guerrero García, and repeals all previous provisions regulating the same matter.

Competitive bidding as the ordinary route

The ordinance is issued under article 17 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Law on Subsidies, and establishes the regulatory bases for municipal aid under the principles of equality, non-discrimination, publicity, transparency, competition, objectivity, effectiveness, and efficiency. The competitive bidding regime constitutes the ordinary procedure, based on the comparison of applications and their priority according to the evaluation criteria set out in the bases.

Projects, services, or activities of local interest may be subsidized in the following areas:

• Cultural, sporting, and educational.
• Of public utility and social interest.
• For the promotion of a public purpose and similar.

Programs, activities, or acquisitions for which provincial or regional plans open to petitioners have already been called are excluded, unless the application was submitted in due time and form and was denied. Direct granting is reserved for nominative subsidies provided for in the budgets, those imposed by legal regulation, and those exceptional for reasons of public, social, economic, or humanitarian interest.

Deadlines, amounts, and justification

Applications are addressed to the Mayor-President and, if they do not meet the requirements, the interested party has ten days to rectify them. Following the evaluation, the provisional resolution proposal opens another ten days for allegations; the competent body shall resolve within fifteen days, and the maximum period for resolution and notification is six months, after which the application is understood to be rejected by administrative silence.

Regarding the amounts, competitive grants shall not exceed 75% of the cost of the action, a percentage that may be exceeded in cases of recognized special interest for the municipality, and the total amount may never exceed the actual cost of the activity. For payment, the beneficiary shall submit an application including the account number, an activity report, original or certified invoices, and certificates proving they are up to date with the Treasury and Social Security, within a period of three months from the completion of the activity. The reimbursement of the amounts received plus late interest shall proceed, among other scenarios, for falsifying conditions, failing to carry out the activity, providing insufficient justification, or failing to comply with dissemination measures.

Sanctioning regime: fines of up to triple

Chapter V defines the infractions and their sanctions, applicable to beneficiaries, collaborating entities, legal representatives, and persons obliged to collaborate:

• Minor infractions: fine from €75.00 to €900.00, increased from €150.00 to €6,000.00 in cases of serious accounting irregularities, failure to provide evidence, or breach of the duty to collaborate.
• Serious infractions: proportional fine from the same amount up to double the amount unduly obtained or not justified.
• Very serious infractions: proportional fine from double to triple the amount.
• Accessory sanctions: when the economic damage exceeds 30,000.00 euros, the loss of the right to obtain grants or contract with the administration may be imposed for up to three years (serious) or up to five years (very serious).

The regulation also obliges beneficiaries to publicize the public nature of the funding, disseminating the participation of the Villatobas City Council, its logo, and name on posters and advertising media.

The entry into force of this ordinance provides the municipality with a unique and stable framework for the distribution of public money, something that directly affects the local associations and entities that apply for aid every year. From now on, they will have known evaluation criteria, deadlines, and caps in advance, while the City Council reinforces the mechanisms of control, justification, and sanction over the funds delivered.

Source: Official Gazette of the province of Toledo, number 187, of September 30, 2026, section I (City Councils), pages 77-80 (official reference: I.-4449, verification code 2026.00004449).